Help your students get prepared and get confident with virtual pre-labs
Support students for success by letting them conduct trial experiments in a low-stakes environment before lab work occurs.
Pre-Labs
Disciplines
The new way to conduct pre-labs
Pre-labs from printed lab manuals are no longer enough to help today’s students grasp core ideas, scientific concepts, and lab techniques before their labs.
By giving students the time, space, and opportunity to apply the theory they’ve learned in a controlled environment, virtual pre-labs help them feel well prepared for their labs ahead of time, whether they’re happening on-campus or at home asynchronously.
How to improve student outcomes in hands-on labs with virtual pre-labs
Give your students multiple opportunities to learn theory, lab procedures, and safety protocols, while gaining confidence by applying them in trial experiments before their hands-on labs.
Let them grasp the basics their way
Virtual pre-labs are highly interactive and engaging, and are 100% self-paced. Allowing students with different needs and learning styles to feel well prepared for hands-on labs ahead of time, in their own time.
Build their confidence through practice
Help students build confidence, curiosity, and excitement for their hands-on labs by applying what they’ve learned to virtual experiments, which they can repeat as many times as they need.
Spend more time learning on campus
As students grasp essential theories, concepts, and procedures upfront, they’ll come to their labs ready to build on their learning—and will have more focused, and more deeply impactful experiences.
With Science Interactive's virtual-pre-labs, you can –
Help students grasp theory and foundational techniques
Through videos, quizzes, visuals, and more aligned with your curriculum, you can make sure students are well-versed in everything they should know before stepping inside the lab. Including safety procedures.
Help students gain confidence in a supportive, safe environment
With virtual pre-labs, students can apply what they’ve learned in a trial experiment, and go through the motions as many times as they need. This practice allows them to have more productive and meaningful hands-on experiments.
Save precious time and resources during on-campus labs
As students will already be familiar with lab equipment, processes, and safety procedures, you can minimize the potential financial and safety risks that can come from accidental mishandling or breakage of equipment – while maximizing every minute of students’ learning.
What others have to say:
Rachel thought the labs would take much longer than they did. With guidance from her instructor and instructions that took her step by step, Rachel found the process of conducting labs on her own easier than expected. “Each step explained in detail what to do, and I was able to see how it applied to the lecture and concepts we were learning. The videos and images helped to see if I was doing things right. And in the end, it was a great opportunity to apply what we were learning to real-world scenarios.
I learn in a very visual way, and I wouldn’t not have done as well as I did in this course if we didn’t do hands-on labs. I read the chapters, took the notes, and then when I did the experiments, it reinforced what I had read. For example, for one of the labs, I was able to put my hands on the muscles we were studying to really feel and scope them out. I wouldn’t have been able to do that in just the virtual simulation, so I think people would miss out a lot if they didn’t have the hands-on part. The simulation isn’t that much different from the textbook; the hands-on takes it to a whole other level.
Janette was amazed by the quality of the hands-on kit she received. “I was excited to open my kit. I couldn’t wait to get it. When they said I was getting a skeleton…it was so cool to open it up. I couldn’t wait to dig in and see everything that was in there. The sheep heart – that was awesome! I’ve never seen something like that in person before, and I couldn’t wait to dissect that!
When I received the hands-on chemistry kit, I was impressed. I didn’t think it was going to be that thorough. To see actual chemicals and real experiments! There was a ton more in there than expected there would be. I’m also someone that likes to work independently and go at my own pace. For me, that means watching lectures quickly but then re-watching sections where I need more clarification.
My 2-, 5-, and 10-year old were enthralled with the labs, particularly the dissection labs. They watched over my shoulder meticulously, as I cut the pig heart. I moved through each lab, showing them the tools and narrating each step, which also helped me. We loved examining the skeleton together, and using the virtual scope was convenient. I felt like I got the same experience as using a real microscope without having to have all the slides and specimens everywhere. From the blood typing to the ice water experiments, the hands-on component helped me understand the concepts much better, and it was fun to involve my kids in this learning experience.
When I opened the hands-on kit, I was mind blown, especially when I took out the skeleton. I wasn’t expecting it to be so large — my kids absolutely loved it! I have always been more of a hands-on learner vs someone who can just read and learn. I absorb things better if I’m doing it as I am trying to learn it.
I don’t do well just sitting there reading a textbook. Yes, I read everything, but while I was taking in the information, I didn’t have anything to apply or connect it to. But when I could manipulate the things and physically see it during the labs, that was the biggest game changer for me. If people can’t get to an on-campus lab, you still want them to get that deeper understanding of exactly what’s taking place — the science behind it all. Using hands-on labs gives you that face-to-face experience to see how things actually work.
Some of the biggest benefits of having access to Science Interactive in my online lab were that we didn't have to have huge textbooks, and we could learn at our own pace. Everything we needed for the course was centralized and so clearly presented that it made learning much more fun and enjoyable.
